On Monday afternoon, the Roanoke City Council will hear about what the parks and recreation department has done in the last five years, and what it hopes to accomplish in the next five.
In 2019, parks and rec completed a master plan to guide the next 10 years of planning, maintenance and improvements, and programming. The department contracted with BerryDunn, a national consulting firm, to complete a five-year update to that plan, according to the agenda report.
Monday’s presentation to the council lists several projects that the department has undertaken since 2019, including the building of an additional nine miles of trails in the city and the reconstruction of the Washington Park Pool, which opened this summer.
Capital projects listed as priorities for 2025 to 2030 include deferred maintenance improvements and improvements on greenways in Northeast Roanoke to make sure they comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, among other actions.
Surveys conducted from 2019 to 2025 show a 7% increase in respondents saying they visited city park facilities within the last year.
But these studies also show a decrease in the number of people who rated the level of maintenance in these facilities as “excellent,” with a 16% increase in respondents rating the maintenance “fair” and “poor” over the last five years.
Thirty-five percent of survey participants said they would be most willing to spend their tax dollars on existing neighborhood and community parks. And since 2019, 10% more respondents say they’d prefer their tax dollars spent on updating existing trails.
Those interested in learning more about other upcoming projects planned by the parks and recreation department can see the full presentation in the agenda, which can be found here.
The council will also hold a joint session with the Roanoke City School Board at 9 a.m. Monday at the Community Empowerment Center on Douglass Avenue. Discussions listed in the agenda include a budget report, enrollment trends and a report on the school funding formula.
Following the joint session, the council will hold its legislative committee meeting.
For those who cannot attend the 2 p.m. session in council chambers live, the meeting will be live-streamed through YouTube.
